" "How can a man's life keep its course If he will not let if flow?" Tao-te-Ching

Flow is central to Eastern schools of the inner arts as well as to the watercolorist. Think of the flow of a river as it moves along its course. The water flows over shallow sands or rushes over rocks in its path. It is ever moving as well as ever changing. To the Tao or Tai Chi master flow is at the heart of life. "All is one, all is flow, all simply is."To the artist, watercolor is flow. There is nothing so beautiful as the way those tubes of color pour from your brush onto the sparkling white paper.

In Eastern thought, all things have their own special essence - how a thing is naturally is how it's meant to be and cannot be improved upon.Unfortunately, we Western artists often become stuck in the frame of mind that whatever we paint must be perfect or the exact mirror of what we have envisioned for that paper. We plan the values, the composition, the photograph we are painting from, and the color theme. Some of us are masters at producing detailed paintings and that is wonderful! But I'm wondering at what cost to our artistic spirit?What I hope to accomplish through the next few weeks is to help you relax! To help you see there is a way in which you can let the color flow and be satisfied and happy with the results. In this world we are constantly bombarded with noise - spiritually and physically. Hopefully we can create an oasis where we can just be .... and flow.And as you continue to work in a more detailed manner, some of the painting you will have experienced will sneak into that work and you will begin to see the flow as you work.